2 killed in Arkansas house explosion identifiedLAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) - Two people killed in a house explosion in Craighead County this weekend have been identified as an 11-year-old boy and his grandmother. Eleven-year-old Slade Owen Gilley and 64-year-old Deborah Gilley died after being trapped inside their home between Lake City and Monette when it exploded Saturday afternoon, The Jonesboro Sun reported (http://bit.ly/1rNgGGE ) Monday. Assistant Chief Deputy Justin Rolland said three othe...

Sheriff: Body found in northeast ArkansasMARKED TREE, Ark. (AP) - Authorities in northeast Arkansas say foul play is suspected in the death of a person whose body was discovered by deputies responding to a vehicle fire. Poinsett County Sheriff Larry Mills says deputies discovered the body Saturday night after they received a call about a burning truck. They say the vehicle was on a levee near Marked Tree. Mills didn't say what gender the person was or where the body was found. He say...

Murder trial of former UA football player startsFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The murder trial of a former University of Arkansas football player has begun. Thirty-three-year-old Josh Melton is charged in Washington County with second-degree murder in the August 2013 beating death of 30-year-old Michael Gover. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1rOvFjB ) that jury selection is underway. Melton's first trial in July ended in mistrial. Gover was found dead in Melton's home after...

Search for missing Searcy toddler called offPolice called off a search for a missing 2-year-old Monday and said various forms of foul play are "the only possible remaining scenarios" following a weeklong search through Searcy, a city of 23,000. Hundreds of volunteers joined police officers and deputies in the search for Malik Drummond, who was last seen Nov. 23. His father and stepmother said he walked away from their home while playing with another child. Officers on Monday began closi...

Vilonia still on the mend after fatal twisterVILONIA, Ark. (AP) - Seven months after a deadly tornado struck Vilonia, residents and business owners are still working to rebuild the central Arkansas community. Marty Knight, the head of the Rebuild Vilonia committee, said recovery has been strong since the twister struck central Arkansas on April 27. The storm killed 16, including 12 in Faulkner County. "It's a marathon and not a sprint ... especially if you're trying to do it in an organi...

Free food for students ending in Lamar, ClarksvilleFORT SMITH (AP) — School officials in some small western Arkansas districts are looking for ways to replace the pending loss of a program that provided food at no cost to needy students during weekends. The Arkansas Rice Depot told districts in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties that it will eliminate on Jan. 1 its backpack program that provides food for students to take home in backpacks each Friday. Lamar school...

High fire danger in Oklahoma, Arkansas OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The National Weather Service is warning of a continued high fire danger across Oklahoma and into Arkansas, followed by a cold front that may bring freezing rain to eastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. Warm temperatures in the 60s and 70s and southwesterly winds gusting up to 35 mph are forecast Saturday through Sunday afternoon, causing any fires that start to spread rapidly, but no burn bans had been issued as of S...

Search for missing 2-year-old resumes in Searcy The search for a missing toddler in central Arkansas entered its seventh day Saturday without any sign of the child, Searcy police said. Two-year-old Malik Drummond's father and stepmother reported him missing last Sunday, saying he was last seen inside their home "Pretty much, we've canvassed just about every bit of Searcy," a town of about 23,000 about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock, said Cpl. Steve Hernandez. The focus has generally been...

Proposed agreement over Fort Smith water issues FORT SMITH (AP) — The Fort Smith Board of Directors is to meet and review a proposed consent decree over the city's violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The city is under a federal mandate to eliminate sewer overflows and discharges into the Arkansas River during heavy rains. Negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice broke off in September, but renewed in November. The Times Record reported ...

DA to meet with family of girl killed at bus stop GLENWOOD (AP) — Pike County Prosecutor Bryan Chesshir says he'll meet with the family of a 12-year-old girl who died after being struck by a sport utility vehicle at a bus stop before deciding whether to file charges. Chesshir told the Texarkana Gazette he met previously with the family of Jazmin Hernandez of Glenwood and wants to meet with them once more before making a decision on charges. An Arkansas State Police report says the girl had ex...

Study: Gay marriages could help economy FORT SMITH (AP) — Supporters of same-sex marriage say legalizing the unions could benefit the Arkansas economy by $24 million. A Nerdwallet report based on data from Gallup and the Wedding Report predicts that couples will spend more time planning weddings and also spend more money — and that marriages would continue to occur, the Southwest Times Record reported. "The most interesting thing to me about the report is the longevity aspect of it,...

Sen.-elect Cotton gives GOP Thanksgiving addressU.S. Sen.-elect Tom Cotton of Arkansas is providing the weekly Republican address, a Thanksgiving message that touches on the need for more jobs and the dangers facing America. Cotton - a Republican - was saying in Thursday's address it is tempting to become consumed with the challenges and to neglect the blessings the U.S. enjoys - including bountiful harvests of food "and the amazing fruits of our industry and commerce." Cotton noted that Am...

Magistrate recommends against forced medicationA federal magistrate in Fort Smith is recommending that a 74-year-old suspect not be forced to take medication to make him mentally competent to stand trial. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/1HJ09xC ) Thursday that the magistrate wrote there is evidence mental problems suffered by James Curtis were caused by a brain injury he suffered in a fall - not from a mental disease or defect. The report recommends Curtis undergo a m...

Convicted Ex-evangelist Alamo's appeal deniedA federal magistrate in Texarkana has denied a motion to overturn the convictions of former evangelist Tony Alamo. The Texarkana Gazette reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/1xWRYtd ) that U.S. Magistrate Barry Bryant rejected the 80-year-old Alamo's claims of ineffective counsel; that the government withheld information that may have helped his case; and that he was denied the right to testify in his own defense. Alamo was convicted in July 2009 ...

Drive-in flu vaccinations prove popularRoll up your sleeve, hold your arm out the car window - and get a flu shot. The routine proved popular this week at the Arkansas Department of Health's Drive-thru Flu Vaccination Clinic in Texarkana, with an estimated 850 people getting vaccinated. People were given the option of a traditional shot or a nasal spray vaccination. "There are a lot of elderly people who come to this, and it's difficult for them to get in and out of their cars and ...

111 Arkansas National Guard soldiers return homeMore than 100 Arkansas National Guard soldiers are back home in time for Thanksgiving after a six-month deployment to Afghanistan. The 111 soldiers with the 216th Military Police Company arrived Wednesday. The soldiers landed at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock about 1 p.m. and were bused to Fisher Armory in North Little Rock where they were greeted by hundreds of friends and family. The soldiers left on May 29 for Fort...

Whole Foods recalls vegan pumpkin pies AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Whole Foods Markets is recalling vegan pumpkin pies produced and sold in its Southwest region because they contained undeclared walnuts. The nuts would pose a risk to those who have nut allergies or severe sensitivities. In a statement Wednesday, the Austin-based grocery chain says the pies were sold as half and full pies packaged in clear clamshell packages and brown, kraft paper boxes. They bear the UPCs 24917100000 and ...

Searcy toddler, 2, still missing, search ongoing SEARCY (AP) — Police in Searcy say a 2-year-old boy remains missing and that the search for him will continue. Police Chief Jeremy Clark told reporters Wednesday afternoon that Malik Drummond needs to be found soon. Clark says bloodhounds and cadaver dogs have been used and that nearby houses — including abandoned homes — have been searched and that ditches and sewers were drained and searched. The child's father and stepmother reported him mi...

Clerk ready for order on gay marriage LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A top official in Arkansas' most populous county said Wednesday that his office is prepared to issue licenses if same-sex marriage returns to the Bible Belt. Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane's statements came a day after a federal judge tossed the state's gay marriage ban, saying it violated the rights of same-sex couples despite being approved by 75 percent of the state's voters in a 2004 referendum. She put her ruling on h...

Judge drops charges against ex-treasurer LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge dismissed mail fraud charges against a former Arkansas treasurer Wednesday and directed officials to work on recommendations for a penalty for her previous conviction on 14 bribery and extortion counts. Prosecutors had told the judge Tuesday they would drop 10 mail fraud charges against Martha Shoffner after determining that due to the earlier convictions any additional penalty wouldn't be worth the effort. T...